82 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



and after catching a dozen or two of trout, little 

 is left of them but the bare dressing, rendering it 

 necessary for the angler to change them ; and if the 

 trout are taking readily, this has to be repeated two 

 or three times a day. For this reason we always use 

 winged flies, when they take equally well, which, if 

 well dressed, will last a whole day or even two. For 

 making flies, in addition to the feathers before 

 mentioned, the wings of the following birds are 

 necessary : Corn-bunting, lark, chaffinch, woodcock, 

 and landrail. These are used to make the wings of 

 the flies, but dubbing of some sort is also necessary 

 to form the body, and for this purpose there is 

 nothing better than the fur of a hare's ear, or, as it 

 is usually called in Scotland, " hare-lug." A good 

 hare-lug will make body for five or six gross of flies 

 of all colours, from dingy white to dark black, but 

 the mixed dark fur is the best. The fur of the 

 water-rat is also serviceable to the fly-dresser, and is 

 peculiarly suitable for small flies. The three fol- 

 lowing are the winged flies to which we are most 

 partial : 



1st. A woodcock wing with a single turn of a red 

 hackle, or landrail feather, dressed with yellow silk, 

 freely exposed on the body. For fishing in dark- 

 coloured waters, this fly may be dressed with scarlet 

 thread. 



2nd. A hare-lug body, with a corn-bunting or 

 chaffinch wing. A woodcock wing may also be put in 

 the same body, but should be made of the small light- 

 coloured feather taken from the inside of the wing. 



